STOCKBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 7.—President McKinley’s
wounds should heal rapidly, if inflammation does not set in, says Dr. Charles
McBurney, the eminent New York surgeon, who is staying here. Dr. McBurney says
that he has known many cases, each more serious than that of the President appears
to be, that have recovered.
If the bullet penetrated the abdominal wall, the
injury was a grave one, is the surgeon’s opinion; if the bullet penetrated both
walls, the case is still graver, and if the intestines were injured, recovery
is even more doubtful. Injury to the liver would make the chances of recovery
still less.
The doctor says he has known many cases to recover
where the walls and intestines were injured, but from the reports he has read
of the President’s injuries, he does not consider them extremely serious. Had
the wounds extended to the intestines, the surgeons would have taken a much
longer time in performing the operation. Dr. McBurney says he can tell nothing
from the pulse, temperature, and respiration announced this forenoon, as all
three might have been affected by the drugs used in the performance of the operation.